Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Councillor Dempster, elected as Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Apologies were received from Councillor Joshi.

No declarations were declared.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 24 November 2015 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record. Any update on actions taken since the last meeting will be reported at the meeting.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 24 November 2015 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

The Humberstone & Hamilton Ward Councillors will provide an update on the activities they have been dealing with in the ward including Patch walks, Humberstone Village conservation banners and the Leicester Ageing Together (LAT) Project.

Councillor Dempster informed the meeting of the following:

·         Residents aged 50+ from the Humberstone & Hamilton ward could now attend Leicester Ageing Together (LAT) events in the Thurncourt Ward.

ACTION:

·         Ward Councillors were planning to meet the Chair of Hamilton Residents Association (HRA) with Assistant City Mayor Kirk Master, in regards to possible developments for one side of Hamilton Library to become a community centre.

Martin Fletcher, Head of Highways will be at the meeting to provide an update on a number of transport and highways issues in the ward including information on un-adopted roads and the City parking strategy.

Martin Fletcher – Head of Highways, Grant Butterworth – Head of Planning and Isabella McKnight – Development Co-ordinator for Planning & Transport gave an update on various aspects of planning, transport and highways. The following was discussed:

·         Martin Fletcher discussed the parking strategy and how it would be used to tackle current parking issues.

·         It was noted that an empty site on Columbine Road had now been renovated into a new car parking area.

·         Grant Butterworth gave an overview on the road adoption system in Hamilton. It was noted that the Council could only adopt the roads once they had been constructed to an adoptable standard and after an agreed maintenance period.

·         The length of time which a road could become adopted as highway would depend on the developer’s build programme and was not within the Council’s control.

·         It was advised that although the Council would do their best to encourage actions by developers, until the roads were adopted it was noted as the responsibility of developers to deal with residents’ concerns.

·         Isabella reported that the delay of some roads in Hamilton being adopted was because the drainage needed to be adopted by Severn Trent Water first.

ACTIONS:

·         Agreements between Severn Trent Water, the Developers, Greenbelt Company and land owners were currently being drawn up which would enable the highway adoption process to move forward.

·         Councillor Dempster requested the Officers to look into a strategy to provide residents of Hamilton information on how the road adoption system would be moved forward.

·         A resident reported that he wrote to Highways in regards to acquiring an extra 1 metre of land outside of his property and was told that it would be a 3 month wait for an officer to visit the property. The resident passed on contact details and requested for this to be looked into.

·         Residents requested for signage to inform people of the new car park area on Columbine Road.

·         A resident requested information on the progress of a previous letter submitted to highways in regards to double lines at Kestrel Field Primary School. Martin would take the information back to the team to be looked into.

·         Grant Butterworth informed the meeting that there were £15,000 available funds for Manor Farm developments, to be spent by 1 November 2017.

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on Police issues in the Humberstone & Hamilton Ward.

PC Alex Catlow and PC Catherine Burnham provided an update on activities the Police had been involved in, within the Spinney Hills Ward.

·         PC Alex Catlow updated the meeting with information regarding previous requests for speed gun usage in the ward. The scheme called ‘community speed watch’ would require between 6 and 16 people to take part as volunteers. One volunteer should be identified as a co-ordinator and another as a deputy with support of at least 200 signatories. Further information could be obtained at bealocalhero.com.

·         PC Katy Burnham informed the meeting on Police activity to address and educate people in regards to parking issues.

·         It was noted that the Police would soon be working with the fire service to tow away vehicles that were obstructing the highway.

·         Residents experiencing parking concerns were advised to email the Police with details.

·         It was noted that 25 burglaries dwellings took place in the ward during the last 100 days. However, there had been a reduction in the past few weeks.

·         Residents were reminded of and encouraged to engage in Neighbourhood Watch.

Housing officers will be present to give a presentation on housing matters.

Tracy McAllistair, Team Leader for Housing, gave an update on housing works taking place in the ward.

ACTION:

Councillor Dempster requested the Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) to invite housing associations to attend the next Humberstone & Hamilton Ward Community Meeting.

The City Warden will provide an update on environmental and enforcement activities in the ward.

Charlotte Glover, City Warden for the ward attended and distributed leaflets detailing activities and works the City Wardens had been involved in.

·         A resident raised awareness of problems with overgrown gardens taking up public footpath or pavement area. It was noted that residents should contact the City Warden in these cases.

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

The following applications will be considered at the meeting:

Bid: 1582

Applicant: The Phoenix Agenda

Project Name & Summary: Educating the black child 4 Awards Evening: Celebrating Academic Success

Amount Requested: £350

Joint Bid: 5129

Applicant: Anita Clarke

Project Name & Summary: Outdoor Gym Equipment Tuition

Amount Requested: £150

Joint Bid: 5132

Applicant: Tanglewood Youth & Support Group

Project Name & Summary: Tanglewood Youth & Support Group

Amount Requested: £381.25

Joint Bid: 5133

Applicant: Envoy Twirlers

Project Name & Summary: Envoy baton twirlers – Europe Competitions

Amount Requested: £700

Bid: 1646

Applicant: Young at Heart Group

Project Name & Summary: Seated Exercise and Friendship Group

Amount Requested: £735

Bid: 1661

Applicant: Reality Youth Project

Project Name & Summary: Ncounter Summer – Netherhall Hub

Amount Requested: £225

Bid: 1673

Applicant: Coleman Armchair Aerobics Group

Project Name & Summary: Armchair Aerobics

Amount Requested: £800

Bid: 1674

Applicant: Twilight and lunch group

Project Name & Summary: Lunch club support

Amount Requested: £1,000

Anita Clarke, the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) presented an update on the Ward Community Budget. The following items were considered at the meeting:

1582: The Phoenix Agenda requested £350 to support an Educating the Black Child 4 Awards Evening: Celebrating Academic Success – application not supported.

5129: Anita Clarke requested £150 for outdoor gym equipment tuition – grant of £600 approved as Hamilton & Netherhall parks would now have outdoor gym tuition in the spring/ summer 2016.

5132: Tanglewood Youth & Support Group applied for £381.25 to provide support/ activities for children with additional needs – grant of £381.25 approved in full.

5133: Envoy Twirlers requested £700 to enter European Competitions – grant of £700 approved in full.

1646: Young at Heart Group applied for £735 to support a seated exercise and friendship group – grant of £735 approved in full.

1661: Reality Youth Project applied for £225 in support of Ncounter Summer Netherhall hub – grant of £225 approved in full.

1673: Coleman Armchair Aerobics Group applied for £800 to hold armchair aerobic sessions – grant of £800 approved in full.

1674: Twilight and lunch group requested £1,000 for lunch club support – grant of £1,000 approved in full.

1685: St Mary’s Church requested £2,000 in support of Humberstone spring festival – grant of £2,000 approved in full.

1683: Hamilton Residents Association applied for £1,500 to do bulb planting in Hamilton – grant of £1,500 approved in full.

1684: Hamilton Residents Association requested £500 to hold a garden party for the Queen’s 90^th birthday on 12^th June 2016 – grant of £500 approved in full.

The closing balance of the Humberstone & Hamilton Ward Community Meeting for 2015/16 was £138.75.

The following applications were received at the meeting and discussed provisional decisions for the ward community budget 2016/17:

5152: Northfield Play Association applied for £500 to replace and buy new/ refurbish outdoor equipment – application deferred.

5154: Shri Guru Ravidas Temple applied for £2,500 to hold a Vaisakhi cultural event on 17 April 2016 – grant of £500 approved.

1702: Leicester Nirvana FC requested £2,000 in support of a development project opportunity for children aged 5-12 years to participate in sport and delivered at Hamilton Park – application deferred.

1720: Hope Hamilton CofE Church applied for £800 to hold a summer holiday club – grant of £800 approved in full.

ACTIONS:

Councillor Demspter suggested that the ward funding should be £17,000 rather than £18,000 to allow the extra £1,000 to be allocated into a central fund to allow certain groups to have access.

Residents and Councillors requested that applicants Leicester Nirvana FC and Northfield Play Association be invited to the next ward meeting to discuss and provide further information on their applications.

The meeting closed at 8.40pm.